


His Choice

by simply_kim



Series: Pathways to the Future [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dorky young Ryuuken, Father-Son Relationship, Look At Your Life Look At Your Choices, Love/Hate, M/M, Obnoxious past Urahara, Old Friends, dads being dads, questionable fashion sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7690726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simply_kim/pseuds/simply_kim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion fic to 'His Crime'. </p><p>'You have grown wiser through the years' Urahara, said slowly, eyes sparkling with humour at Ryuuken as a grin bloomed on his lips. 'But you still have bad fashion sense.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is directly connected to the previous story "His Crime", focusing more on Ishida Ryuuken and his life choices.

_I'm not feeling guilty for opening the letter before I gave it to Uryuu._ He rationalised.

_It didn't have a return address and it looked really suspicious. Who knew if there was some sort of miniature hollow in there?_

Of course he knew whom the letter came from and where it originated. The uneven and slightly hurried scrawl was a dead giveaway.

He sighed. Somehow, they had been found out.

**_/Uryuu/_** It said.

_**/I acknowledge you, that's why I accepted. I realise that now. We are like magnets. Facing one side, we repel, but facing the other we connect. When creating the same thing we scratch each other like crazy – to the point of drawing blood... but complementing each other, there is a surprising promise of peace.** _

_**Idiot. It took a heck of a long time and a bunch of connections to help me with this, you pansy-ass.** _

_**Open your window tonight. I have finally found you. /** _

_Who wouldn't be touched by such gesture?_ Ishida Ryuuken thought as he made his way to his room after dinner. _You and Kisuke say otherwise, but Isshin, you are most definitely the same as your son._

Stepping inside, he sighed, stared at the picture frame at the far end of the room from where he stood, eyes softening at the sight of his then infant son and his late wife smiling happily at the camera.

"Kisuke, you may know almost everything, but this time you are wrong. I do not regret my choice." He murmured wistfully. "In fact, even if my son and I didn't reconcile, even if he hated me all his life, I am glad I had made it." With slow, searching steps, he moved towards the photograph, and in a few moments, his hands were reaching out and grasping the glass frame. He clutched at it, favouring it with a lasting smile before holding it to his heart, as someone would do to something cherished. "The only thing I regret... is that I didn't make it sooner."

He closed his eyes, in pain.

_If I hadn't the heart to choose otherwise –_

_Kisuke..._

**OxxxOxxxO**

It seemed that the peace he had been living in was about to disintegrate once again. If not for that letter, he should still be living with his son in their Provence villa. Now they were obliged to go back to Japan. Halfway around the world and still hunted down by _Shinigami_ , what a life to live.

He frowned, glancing at his son sleeping beside him, comfortable on the airplane seat. If only Uryuu didn't get too close to Isshin's boy, they wouldn't have problems – at all. Well, if Isshin hadn't been so adamant to stay near him as much as possible, Ryuuken thought, he wouldn't have any problem at all.

Because even though Isshin was a former official in the Gotei 13, fact remained that he was very loyal to his friend. And when said friend asked him a huge favour, he would surely comply.

Damn Urahara.

With a derisive snort, he turned back to the window, watching as the clouds rolled by. Even his disdain didn't hamper his friendship with the two men before... when the debacle was not yet in action. Maybe it was because they represented things he hoped he could have but couldn't. Urahara had his relaxed character, and Isshin had his passion.

He on the other hand, only had his Quincy pride.

Thinking about it now, Ryuuken knew it was only a matter of time that everything he had would be taken away by them. First, the family friend's daughter who was supposed to be his girlfriend was stolen away by Isshin. And then, when he was virtually heartbroken, he had managed to...

A sudden image of Urahara and his teasing grin popped up in his mind, irritated, he immediately stomped it away.

No use dwelling in the past.

All he had to do now was take care of Uryuu and make it so as to help him avoid the heartache he had suffered a million times over... and make better choices than he had when he was just as young.

**OxxxOxxxO**

"Your father doesn't like me much, does he?"

Ishida Ryuuken's ears pricked as he heard the unmistakeable voice of Kurosaki Ichigo. He frowned, trying to ignore their conversation in the living room. It wasn't as if he was eavesdropping. He... just had two perfectly functioning ears, so he couldn't help but listen.

Frowning, his eyes scanned the headlines for the umpteenth time, seeing the letters but his mind never registered their meaning.

"It's not like that, I think." Ishida Uryuu responded with a tremor in his voice that betrayed his amusement. "Recently he's being very attentive. I guess he's just looking out for me."

"Geh. Why now of all times? He left you alone for a long time and now he's prying into your life." Ichigo sighed.

Ryuuken frowned. _Who made you an expert?_ Came the nasty thought.

It was his son's response that surprised him. "I used to hold him in much contempt before, but you know, somehow, I understand why he did all that."

"Really now."

"Yeah. He's a very kind father."

The sound of Ichigo's pent-up breath sounded and suddenly, came the surprised noise from his son. Ryuuken gritted his teeth and brusquely snapped the newspaper he held in his hands. The sudden sound made its impact and soon enough, he could almost feel the embarrassment emanating from where the two young men were.

_Take that, Shinigami._

**OxxxOxxxO**

Uryuu may spend his entire lifetime hiding the truth from him, but fate had other ideas.

Eyes widening, he immediately came to his senses as what he was seeing registered completely in his mind. With a purposeful move, he shut his son's door tightly and leant against it for a while, trying to compose himself. When he felt like he could stand up without falling over, he straightened and wandered away.

There was dread in the pit of his stomach as memories of his past came back full force. He had been in the same pits of insanity before, and now, his son was being immersed in it as well – though presently through different circumstances.

The image of long lithe limbs intertwined damply entered his mind and he silently willed it away. No. This was very different. This time, his son was in better, loyal, and caring hands... or was he? Didn't he have some sort of fling with that _Shinigami_ girl before... Kuchiki Rukia? If his stupid source – one that came with an equally stupid sword masquerading as a cane and outmoded striped hat – was correct, he had every right to be nervous.

He took a deep breath and strengthened his resolve – he needed to have a talk with Kurosaki Ichigo.

For now, while the two wrapped up whatever they were doing, he was going to have some scotch.

He needed it.

However, even before he moved to where the cellar was, a sharp ringing entered his ears. Wincing as the familiar call sounded only in his ears, he stomped to the living room to find none other than the one whom he wanted to avoid at all costs. He even brought a friend.

Ryuuken frowned. "Don't you two ever use the front door?"

"Only when necessary." Came the airy response. "You look pale... you okay?"

The older Ishida pushed his glasses further up his nose in a gesture of irritation. "You don't know the meaning of necessary, you pervert." He growled. "And no, I'm not okay..." He turned to the other man. "Your son is in Uryuu's room."

"Ah, so they're talking now." Kurosaki Isshin gave him a self-satisfactory grin and wiggled his brows. "I told you our kids are going to be friends one day!"

"They're not talking you stupid excuse for a doctor, they're –"

" ** _Anyway_** ," Urahara Kisuke cut in with a cough. "We came to welcome you back to Karakura." He gave a small wave of his fan. "It's nice to have you and your son –"

"In your clutches." Ryuuken finished for him bluntly. "And we have been here for weeks, so you shouldn't have dragged yourselves to my home, both of you. Now please leave."

Urahara took off his hat and gave him a level gaze. "Why are you still acting this way? I thought we talked about everything that concerns the three of us before? Is your grudge that deep that you can't ever forgive, Ryuuken?"

" _Urahara-san_ , I am entitled to my own emotions. Whether I forgive or not is entirely up to me."

" _Ryuuken_ , that may be so, but don't you think that is too cruel?"

"That was my line before, wasn't it?" Ryuuken interjected softly, his eyes softening as memories of the past assaulted him. Slowly, he blinked. "Please, for the sake of all three of us, stop popping in whenever you feel like it. Be considerate for once, Urahara-san, Isshin."

There was a long moment of silence before Kurosaki Isshin chuckled dryly. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I've always known you would never forgive me for everything that I did."

Ryuuken gave him a humourless smile in return. "That isn't quite right, Isshin." His voice was quiet, his words stilted. "I always forgive."

"But you never forget." Urahara murmured.

He nodded and echoed. "But I never forget."

The blonde hung his head for a while, deep in thought before looking up at him and offering a hesitant smile. "I guess that goes for me too huh?"

He gazed at him ruefully. "No."

"No?"

"I have forgiven you a long time ago... but I have also chosen to forget the past."

Urahara's eyes sharpened with something akin to hurt, and then as if like lighting, it flashed and was gone. "Another of your choices."

"Yes."

"You lie."

Ryuuken gave him an empty smile and turned away. "Please leave, both of you. I need to rest."

At that point, he didn't care anymore. He was tired, and there was a dull throbbing in his head.

It looked like he didn't need a shot of scotch at all.

**OxxxOxxxO**

With those two, he could never really win.

Ryuuken lay down; trying to relax his head on the fluffy pillow Uryuu sewed himself as a 'welcome home' gift for him.

It had been twenty years... twenty long years since everything started. Twenty years of bearing the pain of the consequences his choices fashioned... twenty years, each year more difficult than the last.

Chuckling darkly, he stared, gaze unfocused, at the dim space where he knew the ceiling light was.

Everything would have been perfect... He thought idly, closing his eyes.

_If only..._

* * *

**TSUZUKU**


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

**HIS CHOICE**

* * *

_Ishida Ryuuken was only fifteen when he first encountered a Shinigami... Not exactly the first time seeing one, but first time talking to one. Well before, even with his Quincy abilities, surprisingly, he didn't know yet that said creature was one. The reiatsu_ _was cloaked too well._

_"That's too early for Halloween, isn't it?" He asked in amusement, pointing at the garb the other was wearing. The satisfaction over the redness on the guy's cheek was palpable. Ryuuken was enjoying this. "It's spring. You should be wearing a light-coloured yukata."_

_The man being referred to gave him an easy smile, even through his embarrassment, and poked him with a cane. "Thanks for the fashion advice, but I think you need that too, boy."_

_He frowned, eyes spitting fire behind his glasses. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing, old man? This is pure white cotton – and the cross pattern is a beautiful shade of blue."_

_"You look like a girl." Came the smart-ass response. "If you didn't speak, I would have hit on you." The obviously taller man grinned, trying to arrange his blonde locks as a huge gust of wind swept by._

_"And you look like a pervert."_

_With a small noise of irritation, he turned and walked purposefully away._

_**xxx** _

_He was by the gate of their property when he saw his kind father waving at him from the front door. Inwardly, he smiled. His father was the nicest person alive, and more often than not, he was being picked on by kids a bit younger than Ryuuken was._

_Of course, as his son, he was well equipped with the means to drive them away._

_He gave a small wave back and hurried over to the door. "Father." He murmured respectfully, smiling down at the much-older man. "You seem happier than usual."_

_"Yes, well." Ishida Souken nodded. "We're going to have a visitor in a little while."_

_He was mystified. It was rare that they had visitors after all. "That's strange." He voiced out his thoughts, shaking his head as he heard his father chuckle. "Ah, you're laughing at me again."_

_"Ryuuken, is it really that unusual that we have someone over?" His father asked, brows rising in question as well. "Didn't we just have Yamagata-san and his youngest daughter over yesterday?"_

_At that, Ryuuken's cheeks reddened. The image of the young, utterly beautiful girl emerged in his thoughts once again. Of course, with that face and royal tones, how could he not be attracted? "Well, now that you mention it..."_

_Souken laughed animatedly, patting him companionably on the shoulder. "You're growing up quickly, my son."_

_He was about to respond when a sudden familiar voice interrupted their embarrassing conversation._

_"Ah, Ishida-dono!"_

_Ishida Ryuuken, for the first time in his life, knew fear._

_He paled._

_It was the man he had bumped into a couple of hours ago._

_**xxx** _

_There was a lot of laughter going on inside, and Ryuuken was ill at ease. He was all too sure that the guy, whose name he learned belatedly was Urahara Kisuke, was relating what had transpired between them to his father._

_And that they were laughing about it._

_They were laughing at him._

_He glowered at the poor unsuspecting flower right across him. Damn if his father ever made him come inside. There was something about the man that didn't quite sit right. Well, it was not as if he hadn't seemed like a suspicious fellow from the start, what with that white overcoat and all, it was just..._

_When he looked at him, he felt naked – as if his secrets were thrown out in the open for vultures to pick on... as if the man knew a lot about him that he himself did not._

_As an afterthought, he clutched at the silver star hanging by a chain around his neck. The coolness of the metal sent a jolt up at his spine. His father told him he was the most talented Quincy he had ever seen, and for that a certain sort of pride clouded his good judgment. He had always wanted to practice what he had learned from him, but he was told not to unless absolutely necessary. So his abilities remained stagnant, and he was getting older. The last time he killed a hollow with his bow was when he was seven – and that was because of an accident._

_He killed the hollow that attacked his father._

_It couldn't be helped after all, the sanction on their kind was lasting, and they were prohibited to kill hollows until further notice. He had disobeyed the rules and Ishida Souken apologised to deaf ears. Deaf except to three, the older man said. He still had to wonder who they were. Because of them, he was acquitted, and was not executed._

_For that he was grateful._

_But what of the others? He frowned. He knew he was at fault, but what child would leave his own father to the mercy of murderers? They may be right, and his father's unwillingness to retaliate then was proof of his faith on his cause, but he was a son... and it was both duty and privilege to save his father..._

" _Penny for your thoughts."_

_Startled, the fifteen-year-old looked up and a scowl immediately crimped his normally clear features. "It's you." He sniffed haughtily. "What do you want?"_

_The blond man smiled at him almost condescendingly and unceremoniously sat down beside him. "You really don't like me, do you?"_

_Ryuuken scooted away, trying to stay at arm's length but failing, since the iron-wrought bench was not that long. "Give me a good reason why I should." He scoffed. "You insulted me –"_

" _Ah, but you were the one who insulted me first." Came the good-natured response. "Besides, we should be friends – after all, you owe me big time."_

_He gaped at the older man in disbelief. "Why?"_

" _I saved you once, you know."_

_**xxx** _

_The discovery was pretty much a shock; after all, he had just insulted the one he owed his life to. The shock still hadn't left him even after a week of zombiefied routines. Ryuuken frowned as he soaped a dish absently._ But that doesn't give him the license to harass me _. He thought sourly._ He has been coming in and out of the house like some forgotten ghost just to tell me I look girlier than Yamagata-san's daughter Masaki

_He glared at the dish he held in his slippery hands._

If things were different I might've decked him. And he had to introduce me to that uncouth captain or is he a vice-captain? Geh, Kurosaki. It would've been better if I just met the guy instead of that pervert – I actually enjoy his company –

_"Ah, Ryuuken, the poor dish is going to shatter if you don't stop glaring at it."_

_His father's voice at his elbow surprised him and he juggled with the wet dish for a moment before he recovered his composure and sighed in relief. "You surprised me." He huffed; setting the plate down before he really broke it, turning to face his father with a good-natured smile._

_"You've been brooding for a long while now, is something the matter?" Ishida Souken asked kindly. "I have an inkling it has something to do with Urahara-taichou."_

_Ryuuken sighed. "They are disturbing my peace." He revealed awkwardly._

_"They?"_

_"He and Kurosaki."_

_His father chuckled in amusement. "You finally are making friends, Ryuuken."_

_"I have Masaki as a friend, father." He bit back defensively._

_"Ah, but she doesn't count – you're 'interested' in her."_

_His father's words brought twin stains of red on his cheeks. "Father!" He responded, sounding very much scandalised._

_"Well you are, aren't you?" Souken's eyes twinkled. "You've been in love with her for the longest time."_

_"Well, yeah..." He finally admitted, looking down at his slippers._

_"Well, while you're at it, why not introduce your new friends to her?"_

_"But she can't see them – and they're not my friends." He said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest in defiance._

_"All right, if you say so." Souken laughed. "They have their_ gigai _, so it's possible for them to be seen."_

 _"_ Gigai _?"_

_"Temporary bodies... and I hear Urahara-taichou is creating something new for extensive use... I can't really explain it, do ask him about it if you have the time."_

_Ryuuken sighed, defeated by his father's kind smile. "Alright, I will, and I'll introduce them as well..."_

_It was a choice that turned out to be a huge mistake..._

**OxxxOxxxO**

**TOCK. TOCK.**

It was the sudden knock on his door that made his eyes snap open. Jolted out of his reminiscing, he took a deep breath and sat up. "Come in." He called out as gently as he could. Sure enough, Uryuu peeked in for a moment before deciding it was safe to come inside.

Ryuuken surveyed his son as the latter closed the door. Uryuu's blue-black hair hung flat on his head, and he was wearing a bathrobe with a towel draped on his shoulders. Coupled with what he had unfortunately seen this afternoon, he was sure he had just taken a shower. His eyes followed his son's figure as he warily surveyed the room and chose to sit far away from him as possible. It was amusing to some extent, but irritating as well.

"You're on your toes." He said tightly.

"Because I know your wrath." Came the easy answer.

It was true, he did know how powerful he was, but his son mistook it for wrath. It wasn't – it was a means to call the Quincy inside. He allowed a small smile and motioned for him to come hither. "You also know my mercy." He retorted, pulling the cuff of Uryuu's bathrobe, prompting him to land almost on his lap. After a flurry of motion to restore decency, they were sitting close, side by side, each taking a deep breath before commencing on staring at the space before them.

Then, silence.

Before it stretched to an uncomfortable length, Ryuuken decided to break it. "You are together with the Kurosaki boy." He said slowly.

"His name is Ichigo, dad." Uryuu responded just as slowly. The older Ishida knew this tactic – he had done the same thing with his father, Souken before. He quelled the laughter that bubbled up his throat and instead, cleared it, turning towards his son in question.

"Kurosaki Ichigo then." He allowed. "You didn't deny your involvement with him."

"I have no reason to."

"Hmm."

"You have seen us a while ago, and I think that was answer enough."

This time, he finally let a small chuckle escape. "You sound just like me when I was your age." He started. "You really like him, don't you?" There was no hesitation in Uryuu, and with a decisive nod of the head, he said yes. "Well then, suppose the girl - Kuchiki Rukia, is it? What if she takes him away from you, are you strong enough to bear the pain?"

The look his son was giving him contained something he could only call 'surprise'. "I suppose I am, but I doubt that would happen. I do not immerse myself completely into things I plan to do halfway."

"My presence here disproves that." Ryuuken murmured kindly. "You have a very soft heart, Uryuu. People will take advantage of it more often than you deserve."

The younger Ishida was silent, toying with the towel he snatched off his shoulder in discomfort only a short while ago. "But he said he only had eyes for me now... and I trust him."

"I see." Ryuuken acknowledged finally, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. "Well, we have to go make dinner now." He started, turning back slightly, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards in a semblance of an amused smile. "Did your strawberry go home already?"

Uryuu paled for a moment before his face was suffused in red. "Dad it's not like that, his name is not –"

"Yes, yes, I know." Came the breezy response. There was laughter in his voice, one that didn't escape his son's notice. "Well, did he?"

"He's going to go home as soon as he's ready to." Uryuu's expression lightened. "You are evil, dad."

"Right. Now go along and cater to that boy. And tell him we have to talk after dinner."

This time, nervousness was evident on his son's features. "Umm, why?"

"Because I want to."

"Dad..."

Ryuuken smirked, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Dinner, Uryuu, dinner."

He watched in amusement as his son scurried out of his room. As the door closed behind him, he sat tiredly back on the bed.

Then he felt it, the sudden displacement of air behind him. Senses on hyperdrive, he was still, trying to calculate his distance from the intruder... He frowned. _This reiatsu..._ The creases on his brow deepened as the signature sensation on the back of his neck and the sudden twisting in his gut gave the answer away. Taking a deep cleansing breath, he stood up once again. "I thought I told you to use the door."

"I don't answer to anyone. I use it when necessary."

"And now it isn't?" Ryuuken retorted bitingly. "Is anything about me ever been necessary with you, Urahara-san?"

Urahara Kisuke materialised in front of him, meaning to surprise. However, the doctor was all too used to him to be surprised anymore. "You haven't forgotten at all if you are this worked up."

"I am not worked up, Urahara-san, I am just irritated because you haven't lost the knack you have for popping up uninvited."

"I don't need invitations."

"Because you're _Shinigami_. I know." Ryuuken smiled bitterly and met him eye to eye. "Why did you come?"

"I wanted to see you." There was something deep in Urahara's eyes that made his insides curl. If he wasn't careful, he might get sucked in once again. This creature was a master manipulator, as he very well realised the day he lost the most important person in his life for the first time at age twenty-one.

He turned away. "You saw me just an hour or so ago."

"Isshin was with me."

"What difference does it make?"

"A lot." The blonde took off his hat and laid it on the bed. "I want to talk to you about things – alone."

"We don't have anything to talk about."

"We have." The presently reinstated Twelfth Division captain sat down on Ryuuken's bed, patting the empty space beside him and smiling a little in a gesture of encouragement. "About little Uryuu, Ichigo, Isshin... Masaki... us..."

"It all boils down to the 'us', doesn't it?" The bespectacled man sighed and finally, nodding once, sat back down, scooting away from the other minutely to avoid as much contact as possible. "What about Uryuu?"

"He seems to be warming up to you."

Ryuuken snorted. "Of course he is, he's my son."

"If he didn't understand, he would've hated you all his life." Urahara said softly. "And you resent his bond with Ichigo."

"It was my choice to divert all his attention away from his heritage just to be saved. I didn't want him to die. I love him with all my life – he's my flesh and blood." Ryuuken answered readily, gazing at him steadily. "Even if he hated me, it doesn't matter, and I know I told you that before. Nothing ever matters but his life and his safety from the hands of the hollows and the  _Shinigami_."

"And Ichigo?"

"What about him?"

"You resent him."

Ryuuken hated these kinds of talks. It dug up a lot of things and it made him emotionally unstable – something he didn't like even more. He sighed. "I don't resent him, Urahara-san." He stated tiredly. "He just reminds me of Masaki."

"He does look like Masaki, doesn't he?"

"But that's all in the past. It doesn't matter now. Masaki is gone, the reason why I went on a killing spree before, nearly taking down Isshin if my wife hadn't stopped me." He nodded. "I lost almost everything at that point. I was starting to care for the mother of my child but then it had to happen."

"I remember Isshin blaming little Uryuu for Masaki's death initially."

"It was partly my fault that I let Uryuu out. He unknowingly touched Ichigo a short while before the hollow came, and being an inexperienced Quincy, some of Uryuu's spirit force was left with his son." He took a deep cleansing breath. "In his rage, he said he would kill my son since he had good reason to do so with the law still outstanding. I gave up everything at that point – friendship, community, belongingness..."

Urahara sighed, fiddling with his Benihime. "It was also your choice, I remember." He murmured. "I was powerless to help you until it was too late."

Ryuuken shook his head and gave the Shinigami captain a pained smile. "It was my choice and I never regretted it... what I do regret is not having made it sooner."

There was an equal amount of pain in the bespectacled man's smile as there was in Urahara's. Then, as if blown by the wind, it faded, into something indiscernible before suddenly falling to his knees and bowing low, his nose nearly touching the marble floor.

"I'm sorry." He whispered almost inaudibly. "I'm truly sorry."

Ryuuken's smile turned wistful. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Everything, all of them were my choices – no one else's."

"I made you unhappy."

"On the contrary, you made me happy... even for a short while. I never regretted anything, Kisuke."

"But back then, we –" Urahara started only to be cut off gently.

"I have made my choices but I have always acknowledged that there are times when people simply didn't have a choice – and one of those is who to care for. But a question still lingers, I guess."

"A question?"

He nodded. "About us... If I hadn't the heart to choose, Kisuke... would you have been selfish and made the choice for me?"

"Yes."

"Then I am happy."

The _Shinigami_ captain straightened up and gazed back at him with something akin to admiration. "You have grown wiser through the years."

A nod of acknowledgement.

Then, a slow teasing grin erupted from Urahara's lips. "But you still have bad fashion sense."

"And you still look like a pervert." The doctor's brows knitted together in irritation.

"Lean, mean, sewing machine."

"Mad, perverted, cat-chasing scientist."

Urahara laughed. "Better that than a pansy-ass."

Ryuuken snickered. "I'm going to tell Uryuu you called him that."

**OxxxOxxxO**

Dinner was uneventful. The dining area was quiet except for the clinking of chopsticks and serving spoons clanking against porcelain bowls. Ryuuken could see Ichigo squirming; darting suffering glances at Uryuu, and his son in turn, was shooting him reassuring ones.

The secret was out now, so much so after Urahara regaled him with stories about the two that his Uryuu seemed to have left out while they were bonding the early days they started living together as family again.

It all boiled down to the fact that the two seemed to have maintained a love-hate relationship over the years...

And that the Twelfth Division captain was, on top of being a pervert, a voyeur too.

He snickered inwardly, keeping his best on maintaining a poker face in front of the two young men. "So," He started, prompting Ichigo to sit up straighter and Uryuu to halt his movement in expectation. "Did the perfumed bath oil help?"

As he took a sip of iced water from his goblet, the two choked on their food. His inner sadist felt pure ecstasy at the sight of their unspoken suffering.

He just loved putting people on the spot.

* * *

**ENDE**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I demolish my bridges behind me - then there is no choice but forward. - Fridtjof Nansen
> 
> I see Ryuuken as someone who chooses to leave everything behind as a means to propel himself and those he cares for forward. From the manga, we can see that he had suffered so much in life that he tried to steer Uryuu away from the same path. He did not succeed in doing that, but he remained an ally in the shadows, still looking out for his son. 
> 
> In this story, I tried showing the Urahara and Isshin connection to Ryuuken in his younger years, and its direct link to his state in Uryuu's life. Although it does not follow canon to a T, it's not that difficult to imagine things this way (if you're inclined to like BL). Urahara and Isshin have had such a huge impact on him that even if he burned his bridges, they still continued to connect with him as they followed his trail. It gives me great joy thinking there are two other people who care enough to reach out from time to time, especially in dark hours.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a purely speculative piece, and the second of five stories in this arc that takes place after Aizen, so I'm branding it an AU because I am absolutely sure neither the manga nor the anime would venture to this direction. It's just wishful thinking on my part. Anyways, bear with me. :)
> 
> DISCLAIMER/S: I'd love to have the creativity and talent Kubo Tite does. Unfortunately, I don't, so I don't own any of these characters or the series... just this story.


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